LOS ANGELES — Violent dramas on the broadcast networks carry milder parental cautions than cable
shows such as
The Walking Dead but sometimes equal them in graphic gore, a new study has found.

Scenes of stabbings, shootings, rape, decapitation and mutilation invariably received a TV-14 (“
parents strongly cautioned”) rating on network TV, according to the Parents Television Council
study released this week.

But similar fare on cable was typically given the most stringent label of TV-MA (for mature
audiences only), said researchers for the media watchdog group.

“There are zero-point-zero series rated TV-MA on broadcast,” council President Tim Winter said —
despite programs awash in violent scenes.

It is vital to examine the media’s effect on children and real-world violence, said Winter,
adding that he hopes that his group’s findings influence a search for solutions.

The study of 14 series during a four-week period found a 6 percent difference in the overall
incidence of violence of all types on cable vs. broadcast, with 1,482 violent acts on the cable
programs and 1,392 on the network series.

Federally regulated broadcasters face sanctions if they cross the line on indecency or
expletives but not violence.

Episode ratings are decided by networks — similar to how the movie studios’ Motion Picture
Association of America self-governs by issuing its own movie ratings.

The TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board, which is composed of industry members and
public-interest advocates, checks for ratings uniformity and responds to public complaints.

During the past year, 38 complaints were received.

“The industry regularly reviews the TV ratings to ensure they continue to be useful to parents,”
Missi Tessier, spokeswoman for the board’s executive secretariat, said in response to the
study.

CBS, Fox, NBC and the CW didn’t comment on the study, which didn’t include any ABC shows.

The study defined
graphic as “especially vivid, brutal and realistic.”

Among the network examples cited:

• During a fight on
Revolution (NBC), a character wields a sword and dagger to slash open a man’s chest, cut
another’s neck and stab a third in the chest. The blood-spattered character pulls his sword from
the last victim’s body.

• On
Supernatural (the CW), a trail of blood leads to the bodies of two priests impaled on a
fence. Their eyes have been gouged out, and blood drips down their faces.

• A woman is tortured in captivity, with an implanted camera sending images of her agony online,
in an episode of
Criminal Minds (CBS).

Depictions of shootings, stabbings and dismemberment were found on cable shows such as
The Walking Dead and
Breaking Bad (both AMC), and
Sons of Anarchy (FX). Five of the seven cable shows had TV-MA ratings, with
The Walking Dead eventually switching from TV-14 to MA.